A Warning: Long and epic post to follow.
So we did it. We went on vacation. I had my reservations about doing this, no pun intended. I was worried about being on a plane, being near other people, and bringing my East Coast body to a very stable West Coast county. I was worried about the baby. I was worried about entering their house. I think though, everything is alright. And we're alright. And they're alright. That's how I feel.
We flew out super early in the morning on Friday (September 18). Flying back in time is nice, and we landed at a time where we'd be relatively awake, alert, alive on the East Coast, so it worked well for the West.
Doug had flown us into Seattle, even though it is over 3 hours from Aaron's. It was 200 dollars cheaper to fly there than to Portland. And we could enjoy a scenic drive. They were expecting us around dinner time, so we had time to burn. It was before noon, so let's explore.
Doug followed the signs.
We got out, took a stroll in the drizzle, enjoyed the beautiful green trees, the green water, the low tide. People thought we worked there and asked us questions.
We must look the part?
The island that the park is on has its fair share of beautiful views, and really fancy gated communities with soaring iron gates and barbed wires. I thought it weird to see how much high-tech and sharp protection these communities had put into place.
I wondered what exactly they were protecting themselves from. What kind of predators. What is it like being this wealthy, this close to Seattle? [read more after the break]
Back in the car, we trekked down rte 3 to 101. Aaron lives on 101 in a different part of the state so all we had to do was mind the signs.
But 101 turns back East toward Olympia and is actually two distinct routes in Washington, a lot of miles out of our way, so we continued westbound toward the 101 that we wanted, the coastal 101.
We got down to Raymond, ate a very late lunch at a really cute diner. You know you're lucky when it is a place full of locals. The waitress is expecting a little girl in December. Everyone was asking. They all had wonderful chats about the doctor who would be delivering her baby. Social distancing meant the tables were far apart, the takeout business was hopping. She was a busy girl. An old high school friend came in to pick up pizza. He's working maintenance at the nursing home where her grandma is living.
You learn a lot listening.
Back in the car, we drove down to Bruceport, where we ate a great lunch at a food truck 6 years ago before we continued up to the Olympic Peninsula last trip.
Everything looked exactly the same.
Down to Nemah, and then to Aaron's house on the river. A wonderful arrival. We settled in to talking immediately, tired because now our East Coast brains were feeling the time. Sort of. I was tired wired - I have a tendency to be very awake when we travel, and here I was approaching midnight their time but wide awake.
Eventually, I made my way to bed. We were staying across the street from their house. A few years ago, Aaron's folks had bought a little house on the other side of the street from them so they'd have a local spot to stay long-term. The plan had been to Air BnB it when not using it, which sounded good to me. I would love to stay there when we came out to visit.
That worked for a little while, until the pandemic hit. They decided to sell it, and it sold very quickly to the other neighbors on that side of the street who wanted it for their adult kids to have a place to stay. The house was scheduled to close the day before we scheduled to arrive. So our plans of staying there had been dashed.
Aaron offered the boat for us to sleep on, but the boat needed to be cleaned up and readied. We looked at hotels across the river in Astoria. We would maybe need a place Friday night, Saturday night. They have an extra bedroom in their house, but they have a new baby and I felt like we'd be so in the way if we were there. The guest room was kind of a place for Serena to go and nurse and rest with him. And I wasn't comfortable taking that space.
We were a day out from the trip, shopping Tripadvisor for the best options.
Aaron's mom called him said that the listing realtor had made some paperwork mistakes, and the closing was getting pushed back to the 25th, the following Friday. So Aaron told us to stay there. It was pretty perfect for just the two of us - a bedroom with a sliding door, a small bathroom, and 2 camping/folding chairs for us to sit in and look out the picture windows at the river. All the other furniture was gone. They put coffee and milk at the house, and set the shower up with soap and shampoo, towels, clean sheets, pillows, everything we'd need.
I was going across the street to have coffee with my family.
Each morning was pretty sweet, getting up and crossing the road. First morning was a full breakfast with Mimosas and hand-squeezed OJ.
We went down to the boat and took the tour without taking the boat out. There was a window that needed to be replaced and Aaron was having a hard time getting someone to come out and do it. He didn't want us sleeping on the boat and having a big rain hit and have us get wet and uncomfortable.
So we bopped around the marina, hung out on the boat, talked about the plans thus far, and what needs to happen next before he can actually start charging people for going out on tour.
Oh, here's the captain, by the way.
It is a great boat. And he has done so much work. But he feels it is so not ready, not just the legal stuff but the stuff stuff. He wants it to be perfect before he brings folks out. It may never be perfect to what he's hoping, before the spring when he really needs to have the money coming in. So here's hoping that things come together right, and it is a good business for him to be in.
We went out to eat at a place in Long Beach that they like. It was great, everyone was super socially distanced. Aaron and Serena knew the waitress from another restaurant so she talked about how everyone works everywhere and there are still open jobs and need for people to work, even during the pandemic.
This is my favorite picture from the walk on the beach. I made it black and white, felt it just worked that way. Emmily and Aaron were talking to the fussy baby. I actually love that you can't really see the baby. You just know he's kind of there being soothed by dad and his big sister.
Enjoyed beers from North Jetty and Fort George Brewing. The Astoria area has some really good craft breweries, so I had to dig in!
We took a couple of hikes then. We went to the Cathedral Tree Trail, great spot and not too heartbreaking a trail for me. I'm super out of shape and was afraid I'd get my ass kicked. We then went over to the Willapa Wildlife Refuge for a longer hike. Aaron wanted to show us the really old trees that made Cathedral Tree look like a baby. Speaking of baby. Here he is.
These were some old ass cedar trees. He gave them names like Fred & Ethel, and The General. I have no idea if they are really named that, or if he's doing his best at tall tales of tall trees. We had a great lunch and joked around about Sasquatch, and using the baby for bait. Serena was a riot - volunteering the baby for science. A lot of moms can't joke that dark, but she was right there with us and we were laughing our asses off.
Poor baby.
Aaron went through kind of a ritual, jokingly, offering his first born son to the trees. We named him Treebaby. When Aaron used to live by us, Geoff had nicknamed him Treeboy, so Treeboy is now Treeman, and this is his Treebaby.
You get the picture.
Doug and I took a day to ourselves and went over to Cape Disappointment, which is never disappointing.
We didn't get to go to the famous, big, main lighthouse, but somehow when we were here last, we had missed the North Head light, so this was a beautiful spot and I'm glad we decided to swing in there.
Weather was weird of course, foggy then clear and bright, then socked in with fog again. We went down to the North Jetty to see what the view would be like from there, and it was a shutout.
At this point we were hungry so we drove up the peninsula, but it was miles of nothing after a while so we turned around, back to Long Beach, and grabbed late lunch.
Back to the homebase, more hanging out, more chatting, more baby, more family time.
The next day, Tuesday, we were hanging around waiting for Aaron to call to let us know about the window replacement. Today was the day! Cruising on the Columbia!
He called me and said his mom called, the paperwork on the sale was finalized. They no longer owned the cottage. He rushed back, helped us pack our stuff up and we helped him clean and move all the things out that were still there. The neighbor who bought the house was standing on her front porch watching us while we did the move-out and left it broom clean. Aaron was kind of pissed because this was not supposed to happen until Friday.
We decided this was super cool and alright with us, that we'd sleep on the boat that night, it would be great. Doug wanted to start a drive down the coast anyway starting on Wednesday so this would be fine. We could start from the marina. It was no problem to us, but it was just so weird that the lady stood there watching us. Later Aaron and Serena walked across to give them the keys, and she played it all down like no no no - your friends could have just stayed there it is no problem!
If that's the case why didn't you walk over when you saw us doing the load out and let us know? Whatever. We're cool. Tonight, we're sleeping on a boat.
We boarded the boat, got out there, had a fantastic cruise up to Brookfield, which used to be called Jim Crow Point, and still is on the nautical maps because Aaron explained for some reason it can't be changed on said nautical maps.
We had a long talk about renaming places and how this one just seems a slam dunk.
This is the map of the river and the marker is where we ended up - we ate lunch while cruising up, then we parked and had a couple beers and chatted, just enjoyed our own being there and the silence of everything else. Even boats coming by in the distance, there was no sound and Aaron's boat has amazing stability evidenced in the wake of some of the ships. Initially, Aaron had thought we'd camp out here, or further up the river, but then decided camping in the marina was a better idea.
Here's Doug, and the river and the mountains. We could do this all the time. A cocktail, a chat with the captain, all day.
We ate dinner on the boat and then Doug and Aaron went back to the house to get our stuff so we could start our overnight. A friend of mine texted me and said "are you guys expecting this weather? You may be in for it tonight." Aaron had checked the weather and it said 100% chance of rain but nothing else.
We shrugged. The rain will probably be really nice to listen to while we're chilling on the boat!
We went to bed at about 11pm.
Sometime around 3am, the storm started. 40mph winds with 60mph gusts. We heard it more than we felt it. I got up to go to the bathroom and looked out the window in the main salon, and it was wild. The boat next to us, an old busted down sailboat, was basically sideways.
I was a little worried about the mast of that boat getting ripped off and landing on us, made note of the lifejackets storage, and went back to bed.
The aforementioned stability of the boat came into play. Doug was sleeping soundly, and I had no problem falling back asleep. Weirdly enough. Part of me should have been shitting bricks about going down with a ship, if something horrible should happen, but we were close to the best exit off the boat, and we were in a safe harbor, on a dock. If we had to bail we'd probably just lose our backpacks, not our lives. I felt incredibly comfortable and confident.
My cell phone text alert went off at 7am,.
Aaron: Holy Epic Shit. Do you need me to come rescue you?
Me: From what? We're super comfy and cool. Everything is great.
and it was. Truly.
Our plan was to not go back up to the house but to hit the road from the marina. We wanted to make some coffee, and Serena had given us a nice french press and grounds, but we had no way to heat up the water other than the microwave. But we had to turn the power on in order to do that.
Boats, dear friends, are complicated.
So while the storm was raging out there, I called Aaron and asked how to start up the power. I assured him we were doing great even though things were hairy out there.
He talked through the process of powering up the generator, the grand overview. And then he had me go through step by step and repeat what I was doing, in case a step was missed. We got the generator going, got the A/C current on, on so the microwave could fire up.
I thanked him, we drank coffee. We charged our phones. I sat and read a book by my friend Jim Infantino, The Wakeful Wanderer's Guide to New New England and Beyond. I've been close to finishing this since pre-pandemic, but have not read much of anything for weeks now. Finishing this book on the boat, feeling like a wakeful wanderer myself (without the drama of Marto's life discoveries! Seriously, go get the book and read it) was perfect.
Aaron called to check on our departure, the rain was still driving down so we were dragging our feet. We were going to hustle out as fast as we could, got all organized, and I was shutting the power down while on the phone with him.
There was a sudden crash! bang!, and he heard it over the phone. Doug came running up from the aft berth, and we looked out above the pilot's cabin to see that the awning had been blown off. Doug ran out to grab the poles and kind of secure things to the best of his non-nautical abilities. Aaron was already on the way down. Emmily and Aaron came down the gangway and we were waiting for them in the Salon. Glad that we were there when it happened because this could have been a costly wreck!
Aaron went out in the storm, and got everything as buttoned up as he could, brought some things in for safety, secured the poles and awning.
Whew!
Everyone raves about Cannon Beach but it seemed to be completely overrated to me, except that you can see the haystack rock, pictured here, from The Goonies and all that.
We pulled over for some pictures and I texted with my cousin Jimmy, a hardcore Goonies fan (so much so, he has the logo tattooed on his forearm).
We ate lunch at the Warren House Pub, just south of downtown. Had the place basically to ourselves and a perfect bartender/waiter who checked in the right amount with us for whatever we needed. They brew their own beer at their partner restaurant, so he was very happy to give us samples and talk about the brews.
Continuing South - we skipped over places we probably would have normally stopped in order to gawk like Cape Falcon and the Tillamook Creamery.
We actually passed up on cheese. Unbelievable!
We trucked down to the Three Capes area; Cape Lookout, Cape Kiwanda, and Cape Meares. We didn't make it actually to Cape Kiwanda, but spent time up in Oceanside and all around Netarts, and took in the other 2 capes.
Well worth the swing through. We didn't hike - we took a short walk (again, in the driving rain but the tree cover protected us) to see the lighthouse at Cape Meares. It was brutal weather-wise, and if it had been nicer, we probably would have ended our day in this area and not gone further south.
We continued down to Lincoln City where there were dozens of hotels to check out, and ended up right at the beach at the Looking Glass Inn. The storm was still going on, we ran up to Rusty Truck Brewpub for pizza and beer, and happily fell into bed.
In the morning, the weather was finally stellar! Finally! Blue skies, beautiful waves. We took a walk on the beach, soaked in the scenery of the Siletz River. Technically I think we were in a town called Taft, but who cares. There were seals on the point across from us lolling about. And seagulls. And dogs.
And no rain.
Cruising down 101, we got to Depoe Bay. Which was lovely and cool. I could have spent all day there just watching the tide, the waves, the tourists getting nailed by the spray coming up on the sidewalk.
We got to Newport and decided to go to the Hatfield Marine Science Center but found it closed due to Covid. So we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium nextdoor instead. Purchased tickets online, hardly anyone there. We had the place to ourselves, and spent a lot of time in the tunnel where the fish and sharks swim over your head.
Our favorite one was Strawberry Hill, no one was there, and we walked the trail down to the rocks, which was wonderfully designed and maintained. We listened to the tide coming in, and the rocks just rolling over each other with such an amazing percussive sound.
The tide was coming in, and the waves would come crash at the rocks and wash around, rushing to meet itself in the chasm between where we were standing and the rocks, and crash again.
This is probably the nicest cell phone picture I managed to get on this trip. I can't wait to see what my nice camera caught.
We could have spent so much time here. I wish we had a bottle of wine and picnic, blanket or folding chairs, for an extended time. I was totally in love with this spot. I think maybe we'll come back.
At the Muriel O. Ponsler Memorial State Scenic Viewpoint, we met a woman who was looking for a lost cat. Her friend had evacuated from her home near Salem during the fires, and came here. They had the cat in a cat carrier, and took the carrier out while they sat on the beach. She had opened the door to feed the cat, and the cat took off.
She gave us a flier, I was sad for them. I hope she also didn't lose her home back East in the state.
Down to Heceta Head Lighthouse, the day was losing light, so we looked at the rocks and the B&B up on the cliff, but didn't see the lighthouse. Driving a little further down to another vantage point, we got a good view of the lighthouse, as the light was starting to fade.
We made it down to Florence, and Doug decided we should go back north to see if the sunset would be worth it from the vistas we were just on. We didn't want to drive further south, because the next day (Friday) we were driving over to Salem to see my cousin Bill. So we didn't want to add more time to the northbound trip we'd be taking in the morning.
From Florence back up to Yachats (which we still aren't sure how to say, Yatchits? Yah-hats? Ya-chats? whatever!) and found a hotel for the night. It was a cute little seaside place with good reviews, but Doug hated the bed, said it wasn't comfy. I had no problem with it, slept like a log.
In the morning, it was pouring again and I was disappointed because I wanted a nice beach walk before getting in the car to drive to Salem. I got a walk to the beach, a stand by the dune, and a walk back to the room.
Common sense prevailed.
We headed up to my cousin's. Last time I saw him was a family reunion and I think Jess was still in high school at the time, so maybe 2008? Lovely house, finally got to meet his wife, who shares the same name as my sister. So she is officially the "other Linda F."
Bill looks so much like his dad, my uncle Jim, who died when Jess was a couple months old. He also looks like my dad, if my dad wore glasses. I loved visiting with them. I wish we had more time together.
We enjoyed lunch and chatting, patted their good good dog Lou and their cat Pixie, and hit the road to head north. Back to Aaron and the fam.
Serena's mom was at the house, which was nice, we haven't seen each other since the wedding, of course. It was fun catching up with her. They set up that guest room for us, since the boat may be more leaky at the bed spot where I slept than Aaron had expected. We could have stayed there, but he was feeling this was the better bet.
I agreed. It maximized our time together before we had to leave and head back to Seattle at 10am.
Running out the door I realized I didn't have a lot of pictures of their family all together. I kind of have a few on the fancy camera especially a couple of the baby and Serena. Emm and Aaron came out for this photo and looking at them, I already miss them so much. I wish we had an extra day to Saturday lazy day or run errands, or do really nice photos on the beach with my camera. But everyone was still in pyjamas, and we were chatting and passing around a baby and just enjoying our time. If I had planned ahead, we all could have been out there the night before when the sunset was spectacular and do photos then. But we didn't plan that.
I told him that it better not be six years before we see each other again, because then Emm will be 18 and that's just unacceptable. And the baby would be six. Nah, son.
Come east, please.
She said living where she lives is boring, and the weather has no variety. It is just rainy or sunny. Foggy and cool, and there is no snow, there are no thunderstorms. She'd love to visit.
I laughed because every time I go over the Astoria-Megler bridge, (see right) I am stunned by how amazing and beautiful it is, and how I'd absolutely love to live there. We were in the car with her, and I wanted to say "Emm, all your days of your life, I want you to look out the car windows at this, and appreciate it. Every day. Just please, love where you live."
I told her that when I travel somewhere that I like, I fantasy shop for a rental or a house that I'd buy. I found a couple, way out of any reasonable price range, but ... I found a couple. She brightened and told me that I'd make it less boring there.
Earlier in the week, Aaron said something about us being family and she was so cute, "He called you family!"
I laughed and nodded and said as far as everyone is concerned back at my office, right now I'm visiting my brother, my niece, my nephew, and my sister in law.
I have family, and I love and cherish my family, do not get me wrong. But I've known Aaron since Jess was Howie's age. How about that. Almost 30 years. Been through it together. Cried together, and more often than not, laughed our asses off together. There are only a few people on this planet who are not blood who I call brother or sister.
Aaron and Carrie.
Carrie and I refer to each other as sisters all the time when we talk about each other. It is an ongoing thing. And our sisters are in on the story. I'm the oldest, then Carrie, then Carrie's sister Rachel, and Linda is the baby. We got caught up in this once when getting pedicures and Carrie had made the reservation for herself and her sister, and we were talking about sisters when the girl doing my toes heard us talking about Linda, so she thought Carrie was Linda.
We had to spin this fast. "oh! our other sister! And we also have Rachel!" And the Linda doing my pedicure said "Wow! your parents must have had a challenge with four girls!"
"You have no idea," Carrie said, looking at me with a Cheshire Cat Grin.
Family.
Aaron had told Emm when we were planning our visit, and she had kind of a recollection of me, "Was she your best man or best lady at your wedding?"
He laughed, glad that she remembered. "Best Lady." Although I'm not really a lady! ha!
Yeah, I thought about how cheap flights are right now. I should just give Aaron money to put her on a plane to send her to me in the spring or something. I can make sure she does her remote school work as needed. I think I'd enjoy that. I think she would enjoy that.
But I want all of them to come. I want Aaron and Serena and Emmily and Howie. I want them all.
I'll take what I can get, though. We'll see what happens.
Doug and I made it to the airport with over an hour to spare, traffic being merciful and car rental return easy. We enjoyed a couple more local beers. I really should resurrect the Shenanigans with Dave blog, just to blog about beer. It's been too long, and I have a lot of pictures.
Arrived in DC at 11pm-ish on Saturday night, amazed that how out in the pacific northwest, there was no humidity. The wall of moist air that hit me in the face when we exited the airport to await Geoff's arrival was palpable. I had today to loaf around and do things like get laundry organized and go to the market. And I took tomorrow off, even though I am feeling like re-entry from West to East has gone well, because I wanted to have a cushion in case we had any change of plans while out west, to stay an extra day, or if our flight got cancelled.
I need to get the pictures off of my camera as soon as possible. I have some beauties. Can't wait to see them. So I'm looking for a new computer now.
Happy to be home, but wishing I was still out west. There feels like there is more to do there.
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